female parent of an animal especially domestic livestock
"The farmer separated the newborn calf from its dam to ensure it received colostrum immediately."
A structure placed across a flowing body of water to stop the flow or part of the flow, generally for purposes such as retaining or diverting some of the water or retarding the release of accumulated water to avoid abrupt flooding.
"The new DAM system, often referred to by its initials as a dam, streamlines how our marketing team stores and retrieves brand assets."
Female parent, mother, generally regarding breeding of animals.
An obsolete Indian copper coin, equal to a fortieth of a rupee.
Initialism of digital asset management.
In plain English: A DAM is a system for organizing and storing digital files like photos, videos, and documents.
"Our marketing team uses a dam to organize and share all our visual content."
Usage: Use "DAM" when referring to a Digital Asset Management system, which is software used to store, organize, and retrieve digital files like images, videos, and documents. It's an initialism, so always capitalize it.
To block the flow of water.
"The construction crew built a temporary dam to stop the river from flooding the valley during the storm."
In plain English: To dam something means to stop or obstruct the movement of water.
"The beavers worked tirelessly to dam the stream."
Usage: Use "dam" to describe obstructing or suppressing something, often emotions or progress; Don't dam up your feelings-express them. It's typically used figuratively rather than literally.
Damn.
"That was such a dam performance that everyone in the audience clapped immediately."
The word "dam" comes from the Old English word damm, which originally meant a barrier or wall built to hold back water. It is an ancient term that has been used in English since before the Norman Conquest.